Cultivating a Deeper Prayer Life - A Theology of Prayer

Study 19

Text: John 17

"THE WORLD HAS HATED THEM" John 17:14

Some Christians complain that when they became believers, they found that their "old friends" who are non-believers begin to shun them. Friendships of many years standing suddenly grow cold, and good friends begin to go their separate ways. Many Christians do not understand why this should be so.

They feel that they have become even better friends. They could offer even more in the growth and development of their friendships and yet for some "strange" reasons, non-believers distance themselves.

This text in John 17 will help to explain why friends of the world will inevitably distance themselves from true believers. Jesus made a very strong statement here when He said that the world would actually hate His Disciples.

If friends merely drop off, that is "mild" reaction compared to what Jesus anticipated. He prayed that His Disciples would comprehend why they would be hated! That reaction was anything but mild!

If you were to lose all your friends would you still believe in the Lord Jesus? If the world would turn against you and actually hate you, would you still follow Jesus as His Disciple?

WHY WOULD THE WORLD HATE CHRIST'S DISCIPLES?

As Jesus meditated on His life and ministry and beyond, He knew that He should especially pray for His Disciples. It is very human to desire to be liked and not hated. It is very human to desire friends. Nobody likes to have enemies!

Yet, the reality of life in this world was that Disciples would have to understand that there would be detractors and enemies. The Disciples must be prepared to be hated by the world.
The word "world" here refers to the "secular world." This is world system that has its own ideas and value systems that are different and oftentimes contrary to that espoused by the Disciples of Christ.

The differences can be so distinct and so great that Disciples of Christ are "not of this world" just as Jesus was not of this world (John 17:14).

Why would world hate the Disciples of Christ? For the same reasons why the world hated Christ! What were some of the reasons why Christ was opposed by the world? In the context of the life of Jesus, the Jews well represented "the world" even though they confessed to being religious people.

WHAT DOES THE WORLD HATE?

The world sometimes hates Christians because they have come into contact with people who are:

Obnoxious in their self-righteousness
Inconsistent in the practice of their confession of their faith in Christ
When they are intolerant and lacking in respect of other viewpoints
When Christians do not display the gentleness of the Character of Christ

If these are the reasons why the world despises and hates "Christians" then we are guilty of stumbling non-believers. Where we have failed, we must ask the Lord to wash and cleanse us from our sins.

A DEEPER PROBLEM OF HATRED

However, there are deeper and more sinister reasons why the world hates Christ and His Disciples.

1. They hate the Gospel of the Kingdom of God
a) With its emphasis on the need to recognize and to repent of sins
b) With its emphasis on the Atonement of Christ as the basis of making peace with God

2. They hate the Scriptural emphasis
a) Where the Scriptures are upheld as the Word of God
b) Where human wisdom is regarded as of only secondary significance

3. They hate the Emphasis on Moral uprightness as the evidence of true salvation
a) The world prefers the idea of things being relative than being absolute
b) The world prefers the idea of doing its own thing, rather than consider obedience to God.

The Lord Jesus had the latter thought in mind as He prayed for His Disciples. He knew that the world would never change His ways. Neither could He change His teachings, for they were from His Father. Thus the world and His Disciples were diametrically opposed to each other.

Let us take time to ponder and pray about what it really means to be Disciples of Christ. Let us take time to meditate and pray over this matter as our Saviour did.

~ Pastor Charlie Tan ~